


Conviction

by Hydaelyn



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:56:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27587792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hydaelyn/pseuds/Hydaelyn
Summary: "When all hangs in the balance, you must give them hope."Following the events after the defeat of Innocence, and with A'vanoh's life on the line, Vresti will take a risk that will change all of their lives forever.
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Judgement

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lemonkuriko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemonkuriko/gifts).



> A (very late!) birthday gift for my dear friend, Kuri.  
> I've been writing this for MONTHS and I'm not done. But here we go~

The Light bubbling up within both of them was starting to take its toll, and Vresti knew that both he and A’vanoh were reaching their breaking points on controlling it. 

It chomped hungrily upon their aether, ever craving more and more of it - more than either of them could provide. Between the pair of them, Vresti felt like he had an easier time handling the unsatisfying hunger it had. Bahamut’s aether would do the same when he pulled from it; snapping at him in hopes that he would falter one day, and if he did, it would burn him from the inside out.

It was easier for him to push down, and to ignore - to a degree. Maybe it was his control over the abyss from his time as a Dark Knight that granted him less pain, but A’vanoh did not have that luxury. 

Vresti would watch him carefully, especially after he made his rounds of healing the wounded. White magic was just as uncommon on the First as it is on the Source, and many did not practice it out of the superstition that it had also contributed to the Primordial Light that was slowly killing the star. Although A’vanoh kept to healing the Scions and those that truly needed it, Vresti had begun to see the strain it put on him with each Lightwarden they faced. His movements grew sluggish when weaving his aether, and Vresti swore he heard A’vanoh retch on more than one occasion after each battle they fought.

They had agreed to share the Light from each of the Wardens that they faced. Even though it was done on a whim when the first one they put to the sword had burst into thousands of particles before their eyes, Vresti felt as a sinking dread began to creep on him that one of them may not survive the ordeal. 

And now, they stood before Innocence. The final Lightwarden that plagued the lands. Their final trial. 

Vaultry had been consumed by the Light, his body cracking and breaking apart as it expelled from within him. The force from it propelled both Vresti and A’vanoh back; A’vanoh being tossed back and landing upon his side as Vresti skidded across the marble flooring beneath their feet. Standing before them now was a towering angel - strands of golden hair framing their face with piercing blue eyes. Innocence wielded a sharp tipped lance with grace, the purple sash draped over their shoulder and around their waist billowed behind them.

A’vanoh slowly rose to his feet and dragged himself to stand by Vresti’s side - ever the stalwart companion since the beginning of their travels. He held his staff tightly in his shaky hands, forshaking his rapier to keep healing both of their wounds for as long as he could. 

But for long it would last with the relentless onslaught against them, Vresti wasn’t sure. He just hoped it would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter will be short. The rest will be much longer.


	2. Desperation

Thousands of razor sharp spears surrounded them, circling wildly as Innocence gathered their energy. Vresti’s carbuncle struck with wild abandon against the shield erected around the Lightwarden, unable to break through it. 

Fear rushed through Vresti as the spears spun around him and A’vanoh, before resting his eyes upon Innocence. The Lightwarden seemed smugly satisfied, seemingly unaffected by his carbuncle attempting to break through. A hoarse cough escaped from A’vanoh, whose hold on his staff was beginning to falter. Vresti could see every wince he made when A’vanoh moved from the wounds that covered his body. 

They were running out of time and energy. They couldn’t keep this up much longer. 

Vresti took comfort in their demise as A’vanoh pressed his back against his - his thin and shorter frame firmly against Vresti’s stocker one. 

“Vresti,” A’vanoh whispered, his voice barely reaching Vresti’s ears as the whirling of the spears grew with intensity. The staff he used clattered loudly onto the marble below as his fingers tightly wrapped around Vresti’s wrist, his nails digging into his exposed skin. “Stay close. Even your breathing.” 

Harder to do than to say. Vresti swallowed down the lump in his throat, eyes upon the spears as they pun faster and faster, turning into a blur of gold in front of his eyes. He sucked in a breath as his heart pounded in his chest, a thin barrier forming around them as A’vanoh forced his aether to manifest. Vresti roughly tugged his wrist out of A’vanoh’s grasp, and intertwined their fingers as he raised his free hand upwards, pushing what energy he had left into the barrier while his summoner book fell to the ground with a loud thunk.

The spears stilled, their sharp edges notched in their direction. 

The emerald blur of his carbuncle hopped into view briefly before coming to stand before Vresti, acting as another conduit for the barrier. The marble under their feet shined a brillant blue hue as the aether flooded beneath their feet, spreading out to encompass the shield. It flickered once before shimmering as the shield was reinforced with all of their aether.

“Atone with your lives!” Innocence roared as he flung his arm out in their direction. Vresti could only watch and pray as the spears rose a fraction in the air, before they were all hurled at lightning speed towards them. 

Hundreds of tings echoed as the spears bounced off the barrier. A’vanoh’s hold upon his hand slackened as one shattered through the barrier and pierced directly into his shoulder, breaking his concentration. Vresti fumbled to grasp A’vanoh’s hand tighter, funneling more energy into the barrier as his carbuncle’s hissing grew. 

The assault receded as swiftly as it began. A’vanoh fell to his knees, his bloody hand slipping out of Vresti’s to stop himself from hitting the ground face first. Retching filled Vresti’s ears, and every fiber of his being screamed that they were out of time. They had to put down Innocence now. 

He had to put the Warden down by himself this time. 

Sucking in a deep breath and steeling himself, Vresti dipped into an aether he had not touched for years. He kept it close to his heart, and only called upon it when he needed it. Bahamut’s aether coiled away from him as he reached for it - knowing the havoc that will be wrought from it. 

‘I shall be here, waiting to take the reins. You need to only ask.’

A familiar weight rested in Vresti’s hand. A way to quell his fears when all felt lost. A better way to protect those he cared about. 

The smug grin upon Innocence's face flattened into a scowl as he eyed the broadsword in Vresti hands. He tilted his head Innocence, a smirk on his face as he beckoned at the Lightwarden.

If it was a fight they wanted, he would give it to them.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With what strength he could muster as the fresh wound across his cheek gnawed for his attention, Vresti swung his blade at Innocence. It cleaved through the Lightwarden’s armoured torso, splattering his armour milky white as the blade cut cleanly through. 

Heaving in several sharp breaths as he stood over them, Vresti felt as the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the pounding in his ears die off as his battle high wore off. Innocence withered wildly on the floor below, clutching at the wound across their chest with their lance discarded to the side. 

“How,” The Lightwarden began, Light pooling and spilling over his lips and upon his golden armour. “Could I lose?” Innocence rasped, tilting his head up to look at Vresti in disbelief. Vresti scoffed, raising his broadsword skyward. He held enough ill will towards Vaultry for what he made the citizens of Eulmore go through in the attempt to survive a blighted land, and putting the Lightwarden down would be atonement enough for it. 

With one final stroke, the broadsword cleaved through them once more, and Vresti watched as the Lightwarden stilled, Light pouring from the clear cut through them.

Their battle was over. He had triumphed. 

Turning on his heel, Vresti rubbed the back of his forearm against his bloody, wounded cheek as he rushed over to A’vanoh, and slid into a crouch beside the Miqo’te. He was still on his knees, resting his forehead upon his elbow as he heaved in breaths. Vresti’s carbuncle was whining endlessly as it nudged at A’vanoh, licking his exposed cheek in an attempt to calm him. 

Vresti carefully removed one of his gauntlets and placed it to his side to reach out towards A’vanoh, placing a gentle hand in his hair. He knew that the Light was beginning to kill A’vanoh, and taking in Innocence’s essence would surely destroy him. A’vanoh relied too heavily on pulling at the aether that surrounded them when he had ran out of elixirs in the middle of their battles, 

Slowly, A’vanoh rose his head to look up at Vresti. Exhaustion was written plainly across his blood and Light smeared face. At the sight of Vresti being okay however, a soft but weak smile rested upon his lips. 

Hesitation coiled violently in his stomach. It was almost enough to stop Vresti from what he was about to do next. A plan he set in motion the moment when he began to make his way over to A’vanoh. One that would assure A’vanoh would live after this ordeal. 

“Did we do it?” A’vanoh muttered to him, and Vresti gave him a slight nod. A sigh escaped from A’vanoh, who lowered his head back down to rest on his forearm. “Thank goodness. I’m glad. We achieved what we came here to do.” A’vanoh mumbled. Vresti’s carbuncle whined loudly as Vresti’s concerns for A’vanoh bleed into them.. 

A piercing scream ricocheted off of the marble pillars, drowning out the whines from his carbuncle, as Innocence shattered like the previous Lightwardens; hundreds of Light particles beginning to rain down upon them. It was almost serene - if not for the implications of what came after. 

If he were to do what he planned, Vresti had to set it in motion now. They were out of time. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sad sigh, Vresti adjusted himself so that he rested on both of his knees, running a hand through A’vanoh’s hair. 

“I’m sorry.” Vresti whispered sadly, pulling his hand out of A’vanoh’s hair to snap his fingers. His carbuncle ceased their attempt to sooth A’vanoh, and lunged at his neck. Blind sighted by this, A’vanoh floundered with the manifestation of Vresti’s aether when they knocked him over; trying to stop them from sinking their teeth into him. The puddle of Light beneath him splattered and coated the leather armour he wore, staining it white as he struggled with the carbuncle while upon his back.

Rising to his feet and flexing his fingers out, Vresti pushed the command harder upon his carbuncle, his brow knitting together as he forced his will upon them. Able to bypass A’vanoh’s feeble attempts while weakened, his carbuncle sunk their teeth into his neck. Vresti felt a sliver of distress from his carbuncle as A’vanoh wrapped his trembling fingers around their torso, a poor attempt to rip them off of his skin. Vresti shook his head at him. It was futile, and if A’vanoh was actually able to remove his carbuncle, it would cause more problems at this point. The aetherical imbalance he was already experiencing, combined with Vresti trying to rip it out of him via aetheric means would kill him if A’vanoh interferes with the process. 

“I wouldn’t do that. You’ll damage your aether if you resist.” Vresti mumbled to A’vanoh. With another snap of his fingers, Vresti used the Light that he had placed into his carbuncle to pull at the Light that had gathered in A’vanoh, and forced it to congregate within the carbuncle. The carbuncle - a piece of Vresti’s own aether - shrieked with pain as the Light overtook their aether, changing from a brilliant blue to a bleached colour. 

It was now, or never. 

With an armoured hand outstretched towards the Light that expelled from Innocence, and another at the Light that he had his carbuncle take from A’vanoh, Vresti swallowed the fear that sat in his throat. Slowly, he brought both hands upon his chest, and closed his eyes. The Light collided with his own aether, burrowing deep and snapping at what little of his own, natural aether remained. 

Blinding, white hot pain wracked his body, and all Vresti saw as he clutched at his head was a bleeding A’vanoh screaming at him, struggling to get on his own feet. His words were muddled to Vresti’s ears, the pain coursing through him dulling his senses. A heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Vresti cracked open an eye to see A’vanoh, panting heavily as sweat poured over his brow, mingling with the Light and blood that smeared his cheeks. 

“Vresti! Stay with me, please-” A’vanoh shouted at him, his face contouring in pain as his wounded arm moved to hold onto Vresti’s other shoulder. Another flare of Light aether coiled around him; his nerve alight and stinging as the Light aether chewed away the rest of his own. 

Terror flooded what remained of his own thoughts, which were slowly growing plagued as the Light took over. It was pulling and ripping at what remained of his own sense of self; calling for him to let the Light within take over and devour all that remains of this land. To feast upon what aether lies before him, as A’vanoh shook his shoulders with what minuscule strength he had left. 

“Vresti! Hold on, we will find a way to stop this. There has to be a way,” A’vanoh begged helplessly at him, tears forming at the corner of his eyes as he mumbled out pleas for Vresti to keep himself together. A’vanoh’s words barely reached him as he tried desperately to fight against the Light. 

Vresti let his eyes close once more, acidic Light boiling up from within him and pooling in his mouth. It spilled over and onto the marble beneath him and across his and A’vanoh’s boots. He pushed back against the Light, trying to use the abyss within to contain it, but with no avail. The familiar, cooling sensation of A’vanoh’s healing magic brushed against him, but it was not enough to quell the agony that rocked his body. 

It was a losing battle. Maybe it was fate that he would become a Lightwarden.

“Vanoh,” Vresti whispered to A’vanoh, his voice raspy and brittle as he tried to desperately hold onto his frayed aether. “Please. Get out of here. Save yourself-”

The final words that left Vresti’s lips were drowned out by a gunshot. A’vanoh’s hands upon his shoulder grew slack, and Vresti’s eyes shot open to watch as one of his dearest friends crumpled to the ground.The words on A’vanoh’s lips died as he fell, his mouth open in a silent scream as his eyes fluttered to a close. 

Slowly, Vresti turns his eyes upwards, and spied the cause of the gunshot as the sky above their heads cycled through an array of night and day before settling back upon the Primordial Light that covered the lands. 

Emet-Selch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will ALWAYS MAKE MY CHARACTERS SUFFFFEERRRRR (and others, if requested)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha, i forgot to post this bit before the scene in the inn at the crystarium :clown emoji:

Adrenaline never stopped running through his veins as R’indae rushed through Mt. Gulg, fending off Sin Eaters while picking off any stragglers the Scions left behind as they hurried up the steps where the final Lightwarden had been awaiting them.

He could hold his own in the fight - the Sin Eaters that descended upon him nothing more than easy pickings compared to Nidhogg’s Horde that had ravished his home on more than one occasion when he was young. He felled any that dared to approach him; his arrows striking true and shattering them into specks of Light. The Talos that they had ascended on was still swatting Sin Eaters out of the sky and crushing them between its stone fingers, helping him out with the larger ones that would take more than just a few arrows to put down. 

It was mind numbing and a distraction compared to what he knew his friends were facing. He knew that A’vanoh and Vresti were fighting their final battle against the Lightwardens on the First, and deep down, R’indae knew things were never as easy as they seemed. There was - and had - always been a catch. All the Scions and all the people in the Crystarium all knew it, even though none of them would ever admit it. 

Hell, he didn’t want to admit it either. But they all knew that taking in that much Light aether was bound to kill one of them. 

A gun shot rang out from the plateau above him, breaking his concentration on the Sin Eaters that fly overhead. A scream of agony hit his ears, and R’indae discarded the notion of taking down the rest of the Sin Eaters that flocked to the mountain. He knew who that screamed belonged to - hearing it once before when Nidhogg’s talons grazed across their chest.

A’vanoh.

As his feet hit the smeared marble battleground, the first person R’indae laid his eyes upon was Vresti. He was shaking from head to toe before a body that laid on the ground; clutching at his head as Light poured from his mouth, splattering his boots and the floor beneath him in heaping globs. A wound upon his cheek was bleeding profusely, freckling his neck and armor with thick, red blotches. R’indae had seen him in plenty of fights before, but he never looked this terrible after them. 

Vresti had fallen to his knees as a flare of white aether surrounded him. His fingers dug deeper into his hair, and he let out a low groan as he lowered his head to the floor.

In front of Vresti, R’indae spied A’vanoh. He was laying on his side in a puddle of Light, blood pouring from four pinpricks in his neck and a deep wound on his shoulder. He seemed to be unconscious, and fear seeped into R’indae’s bones. Slowly, he rose his eyes towards the center of the battlefield. 

And at the end, right where a stray spear of Light was piercing through the marble flooring, was Emet-Selch. A sly grin rested on his face as he eyed the scene before him. A Miqo’te with a full head of bright red hair and donning the Exarch’s clothes was under his arm, unmoving. His azure crystal arm hung towards the ground, crimson blood trailing down the side.

Only one thought crossed R’indae mind as he absorbed what he saw with his own eyes. He had to protect them. 

In a blur of movement, R’indae had shoved his way through the Scions and leaped over Vresti and A’vanoh, landing in a crouch before Emet-Selch. He snarled up at the Ascian, and drew the dagger that was tucked into his belt from around his waist. His eyes never moved off of Emet-Selch, and R’indae stayed low, ready to pounce the moment Emet-Selch moved. As if testing him, the Ascian placed one foot forward, and R’indae’s hold upon the dagger tightened, the leather of his gloves straining around his knuckles.

“Do not touch them.” R’indae hissed, the razor sharp blade of his dagger glinting in the harsh light.

“Oh? And what are you going to do?” Emet-Selch stated, a pleased smile upon his lips. “You’re too late to stop what fate has in store for them. For you.” Emet-Selch stated, lazily gesturing at R’indae with a nod of his head. “For this world. It would be a blessing to put this one down,” He began, leveling his gun at A’vanoh. “Before the other decides to feast upon his aether.” R’indae followed Emet-Selch’s eyes as they laid upon Vresti, and he took a quick glance over his shoulder to see him withering on the ground. “Although he still clings to his senses and form, he is close to becoming a Lightwarden. It is only a matter of time before he turns, you know.”

R’indae’s eyes rested back on Emet-Selch. A brief pained look on his face flashed across his face - a hint of sadness in his eyes as his lips pursed together. It was gone in an instant, and the gun in his hands, as well as the Exarch under his arm, faded into the void that all Ascians use to teleport. “And after that happens, those in his company will change into Sin Eaters, and they too shall hunt the innocents to devour their sweet, sweet aether.”

Emet-Selch took another step forward, and R’indae lunged, snarling wildly with the dagger aimed for his throat. The Ascian dodged it casually by stepping to the side, and the snide smirk on his face made R’indae’s blood boil. Turning on his heel as he landed, R’indae crouched down to spring at him once more, but stopped once he heard a gun cock. Emet-Selch had summoned it back into his hands, and aimed it at A’vanoh once more. 

R’indae froze where he stood, ice cold fear rushing through him. Slowly, he lowered his dagger and took several steps back. He wasn’t willing to risk taking down Emet-Selch with A’vanoh and Vresti’s lives in his hands. 

Keeping the gun level with A’vanoh, Emet-Selch stepped over him to crouch in front of Vresti, placing his gloved and bloody fingers under his chin. He pulled his face up so that they could look at one another.

“When you grow tired of this charade and wish to descend into madness out of the prying eyes of the masses, seek for me at the depths of the Tempest.” Emet-Selch spoke softly to him, before removing his fingers to let Vresti’s head drape back to the floor. Emet-Selch rose back up to his full height, his eyes scanning over all of them, before resting upon R’indae. Emet-Selch's frown deepened as R’indae bared his teeth at him. 

And with a snap of his fingers, Emet-Selch was gone. 

Everyone reacted at once around him - the Scions rushing towards both A’vanoh and Vresti, buzzing with chatter as to what they just saw. 

Sheathing his dagger, R’indae ran a hand through his hair as he hurried over to A’vanoh. Ryne was crouched to look over him briefly, before jogging over to Vresti, her hands outstretched over as she poured her aether over him as he laid unconscious.

R’indae had a bad feeling about this whole situation, but he shoved it down for now. He wanted to check on A’vanoh himself.

R’indae knelt beside him, pushing his white locks out of his face. Blood marred his cheek and neck, and R’indae swiped it off gently with his thumb, smearing it across the side of A’vanoh’s face instead. He held in a sigh, and let his eyes lower to see splatters of Light across his exposed shoulder, intermingling with the blood from a deep, piercing wound below the pin pricks in his neck. R’indae could spot an array of lightning bolt-like lines stretching down from the puncture wounds on his neck and across his chest, intersecting with one of the scars that Nidhogg had left upon his skin. Although R’indae was tempted to place his hand upon the wound and the markings, he dared not to. 

He may not be as aetheric savvy as the rest of the Scions, but it didn’t take much for one to know not to touch it. He had seen what the Light had done to both Vresti and A’vanoh. R’indae didn’t want to know what would happen to him if it got into his body. 

The memory of Tesleen being pierced through and becoming a Sin Eater flashed before his eyes, and R’indae briskly shook his head to shatter the thought away. Now was not the time to recall that.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spied as Y'shtola approached to kneel beside him. She looked a little frazzled - her brow stitched together and her ears folded back against her hair as she stretched a hand out and over A’vanoh with her eyes closed. 

“Doesn’t take a mage to realize he is severely injured.” Y'shtola mumbled, her hand hovering over his collar. “He has several aetheric wounds. I’ll do my best to handle it, but we have to get them both to safety. It is too dangerous to stay here.” 

R’indae looked back down at A’vanoh, and let out a dejected sigh. There wasn’t much he could do, other than agree with Y'shtola. It sucked, but it also was what it was.

“...Yes, let us go.” R’indae replied, keeping his voice low. Scooping A’vanoh into his arms, he rose back to stand on his own two feet. A’vanoh was dead weight in his arms, and R’indae adjusted him so that A’vanoh’s head rested against the crook of his shoulder with one of his arms under A’vanoh’s shoulder blades to clutch him close as the other was under his knees. Y’shtola moved fluidly with him, placing A’vanoh’s left arm across his stomach so that it would not dangle loosely at his side.

“Careful with that arm as we make our way back. The aetheric wound is on that shoulder, and aggravating it will make the healing process slower.” 

When did she become so fretful over A’vanoh’s health? R’indae questioned, but kept it to himself. He turned to see Thancred carrying Vresti, blood staining his white coat. Ryne was fretting over him as she stood by Thancred’s side, the blue tint of her aether encircling both of them. 

What had truly happened up here?

Although he had more questions than answers, R’indae hurried with the Scions as they made their way back to the Crystarium; avoiding the questioning gazes that were shot their way. They would have a lot to explain to the people, but first, getting the Warriors of Light awake and stable would be their first course of action.


	4. Return of the Light

A’vanoh had been the first to awaken between him and Vresti, and he was pissed when the grogginess wore off. 

“I hope you understand that I am going to strangle Vresti once he wakes up.” A’vanoh muttered into his coffee as he glared out at the sky, the specks of Primordial Light flitting into their room after having taken over the night sky that they had worked so hard to return to this land. His tail swished back and forth angrily behind him, and R’indae was thankful he decided to sweep the floor before A’vanoh awakened, in a vain attempt to do something with his hands to quell the thoughts wracking his mind. 

Letting a sigh out through his nose, R’indae leaned back in his chair while clutching his drink close to his chest. A’vanoh had thrown open the curtains and turned his chair to look out upon the land the moment he was free from the Scions, and when he wasn’t mumbling to speak to him, R’indae could tell A’vanoh was thinking through every possible solution to their problem.

Although he was worried about it, R’indae knew that there was still nothing he could do at this present moment. Instead, he stayed behind as the rest of the Scions worked tirelessly to find some way to cure Vresti, having used the excuse to keep an eye on A’vanoh while they worked. He was better at this - cleaning up and watching over him like a hawk, not researching through the entire library in the Crystarium for an answer. Reading was never his strong suit, even to this day.

“With your shoulder as it is? I don’t think you’ll be able to do that.” R’indae replied, gesturing at the bandage wound tight around A’vanoh’s left shoulder. A’vanoh shot him a glare, and R’indae shrugged at him with a sheepish grin on his face. Maybe he shouldn’t have teased him, but R’indae wanted to break the tension that was leveled thickly in the room. Most of it was from A’vanoh’s annoyance as to what transpired earlier, shortly after he had awoken.

With a bit of prodding from the Scions, A’vanoh had explained what had transpired atop the plateau while getting a thorough check up by Urianger. He and Vresti had pushed back Vauthry, who was the Lightwarden for Khoulsia. As the battle progressed, A’vanoh realized he made a grave error; as he worked on keeping himself and Vresti alive, he began to rely on the ambient aether that surrounded them instead of his own as their wounds grew more grievous than the last. However, with how tilted towards the Light it is, it began to eat at his aether as the Light within had been doing for months, and made him weaker the longer the fight lasted. He had stated that he should have known better, but by that point, it was too late to turn back what he had done.

As Vauthry, also known as Innocence, began to grow desperate, they had surrounded both he and Vresti with hundreds of spears. Together, they created a barrier to hold back the assault, but one had cracked and shattered through, piercing A’vanoh in his shoulder and breaking his concentration. It was enough to fizz out what little aether he had at his disposal, and Vresti had to take up arms against Innocence in A’vanoh stead. 

But the time he was able to be of some use, A’vanoh had found that the battle was won, and that Innocence’s aether was going to join with theirs. 

It was also then when A’vanoh went silent, his worried gaze cast to the tile floor. Y'shtola was the one to confirm to everyone that the Light within A’vanoh was gone, and Vresti held both of their portions within him. A feat that will destroy him, if they don’t figure out what to do, and soon. 

Thancred gruelingly pressed A’vanoh for more answers as to what had happened and how to solve it, and A’vanoh snapped back at him - his emotions bleeding into his words as he all but screamed at Thancred. 

By the end of it, each of the Scions looked a bit surprised by his outburst, and R’indae took it upon himself at that time to remove A’vanoh. He slowly pulled him out of the inn room that the innkeeper allowed them to use to speak in private, and back into their own. 

It had been several hours since then, and neither he nor A’vanoh had heard from any of the Scions. Although the opportunity was there, R’indae had not been willing to push A’vanoh to explain the rest of what happened. He could easily deduce it himself just by looking at the gashes on A’vanoh’s skin. But, there was the question of the puncture wounds upon his collar that piqued his curiosity the most.

“So,” R’indae began, swirling his glass in his hand. A’vanoh looked over at him, his ears pinned back. “What happened there?” R’indae asked gently, gesturing with his glass to the punctures upon A’vanoh’s neck. The glare on A’vanoh’s face faded, and he turned his gaze slowly back out to Lakeland, his brow knitting together. 

“Vresti sicked his Carbuncle on me.” A’vanoh mumbled, putting his mug down upon the table to reach up to the bandage. His fingers ran over it, and a flicker of pain crossed his face. “He did apologize before he did, so I’ll give him that, but I never thought about how painful their bite would be.”

R’indae blinked at A’vanoh. Wait, did he hear that right? “His carbuncle attacked you? What would that even accomplish?”

“More than you and I would believe at face value.” A’vanoh said, reaching to pull his mug back into his hands to take a sip of it. “Lest you forget, Vresti is as powerful as I am when it comes to wielding his aether. We are both prodigies in what we have studied, and there is much more to his arcanist skills than I originally thought.” A’vanoh paused for a brief moment, drumming his fingers upon the table. “You know why he lets his carbuncle run free, right?”

R’indae tilted his head to the side, pursing his lips together. A rhetorical question, but there was something else under it. “No? But go on.”

“Carbuncles are an extension of one’s aether. Although he allows it to have a free will, he can control it completely if he wishes to. It allows him to interact with aether on a more...physical level, so to speak." A'vanoh explained, taking another sip from his mug before continuing. "He had commanded it to pierce into the wound in my shoulder to draw out the Light. The small dastard pulled it off too, even though they were a little off and got closer to my collar.” A’vanoh explained, ceasing his drumming to rub at the pinpricks on his neck. R’indae watched as he did so, the same dread he felt from yesterday welling up inside him at the thought of what happened between A’vanoh and Vresti.

It was still hard for him to imagine that all of this happened less than twenty-four bells ago. 

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, R’indae arose from his seat, letting his drink rest with a light clink upon the table. A’vanoh watched him with a brow raised as he closed the distance between them, kneeling down to be eye level with him. With one hand upon A’vanoh’s knee, R’indae nudged it to the side, and A’vanoh lifted his arm holding his coffee up to let R’indae wrap his arms around his middle and rest his head against his good shoulder, effectively trapping him in his seat.

It was comforting to be this close. R’indae could feel the warmth radiating off of him, and hear the slow but steady breaths he was taking - compared to how cold and lifeless he felt in his arms yesterday. Letting his head rest upon A’vanoh’s good shoulder, R’indae heard as A’vanoh put his mug down to run a hand through his hair. Although he was leaning funny, and knew it was going to hurt later, R’indae didn’t care. The feeling of A’vanoh’s fingers stroking through his short locks was enough to soothe him. 

“Although this is the worst time to do it, if you want to cuddle Dae, we could just climb back into bed.” A’vanoh stated, resting his cheek against R’indae’s head. 

“That’s too simple.”

“You’re going to complain about your back hurting later if you stay like this.” A’vanoh retorted.

“And we may have to get up in a moments notice if anyone returns, Van.” R’indae stated plainly, slowly pulling away from A’vanoh. He sat upon his calves with his hands upon A’vanoh’s knees, and took a throughout look over him. Compared to yesterday, A’vanoh did look a little bit better - his skin was not as ashen as more colour rested in his cheeks, and the cuts on his forearms had healed over.

R’indae took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. Back to the present, and to the issue they were both skirting around. “Any idea as to what we can do?” He asked softly, and A’vanoh flicked his gaze away to peer out at the horizon, a deep frown upon his lips. 

“For once, I’m not sure.”

Unsure as to how long they had been sitting in silence for, and with his knees hurting from being on the floor for too long, R’indae pushed himself back up and onto his feet, leaning over to pluck his drink from where he had left it on the table to take a swig. The chair behind him skid against the tile as A’vanoh suddenly stood up, a finger immediately upon the cuff of his ear.

“Yes, I’m awake. What is it?” He asked, and R’indae turned on his heel to side eye him. He forgot that the Scions had their own linkpearl - one he didn’t want to be a part of. He didn’t like the buzzing in his ears when it would go off, which would too often for his tastes. 

A'vanoh's brow began to furrow. “So, no one knows where he went? He’s not hard to miss.” A’vanoh replied curtly, and R’indae slowly placed his drink back down on the table. Something must have happened. 

“I’ll deal with it. Worst case, I’ll follow the trail his aether will have left behind.” A’vanoh quipped, his tail flicking wildly behind him as he walked away from his chair to pull his bag off of the knob that it hung on by the door to strap around his waist. He fumbled with it for a moment before he was able to snap the buttons together. “No, don’t let Shtola do it. She already strained herself enough healing me today. Most of my energy is back. I can, and will, find him, Thancred.” 

‘Ah, he must still be aggravated about his conversation with Thancred earlier.’ R’indae mused to himself as he bent down to adjust his boots. There was a light thumping sound as A’vanoh slid his on, leaning heavily against the door with his good shoulder to do so. 

“We have a problem. Vresti is missing, and no one knows where he is.” A’vanoh said with a huff, aggravation leaking into his tone. “I’m going to go find him.”

“And I’m coming with you,” R’indae told him, walking over to help A’vanoh get his coat on before placing both hands upon his shoulders to stare down at him. A’vanoh’s golden eyes met his mismatched ones, full of determination. Full of life once again - unlike the cloudy murk that filled them when he held the Light within. “You’re not doing this alone.” 

Before A’vanoh had the chance to give him a curt reply, R’indae bent down to place his lips upon his, silencing him. Sliding a warm hand into A’vanoh’s, R’indae pulled away to look back down at him once more. “You're not in this alone.” He repeated, his grip tight upon A’vanoh’s hand. R’indae was tired of A’vanoh rushing off to solve everything by himself. Although R’indae understood that A’vanoh did it to keep him safe, he wanted to help him more. 

A’vanoh’s hand tightened around his, and he stood on his toes to rub their cheeks together. “Thank you. I am forever grateful to have you by my side.” A’vanoh replied softly. His hand never left his as they made their way out the door, hurrying through the Crystarium in their search for Vresti.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c
> 
> Final chapter of the night.


End file.
